1) Jay Bruce / OF / CIN
- What a great prospect. The Texas native's stats the last two years give him Major League Equivalent (MLE) stats of .322/.376/.600 (253 AB) and speak of his overall ability at the plate. To give you an example of his power, his four home runs in AA last season went to opposite field or over the center field wall. He can spray the ball all over the field and make adjustments from at-bat to at-bat, something not all 20 years old can do. He was able to hit over .300 at each level of the minors he visited in 2007 (High-A, AA, AAA)
2) Evan Longoria / 3B / TB
Talk about another professional hitter who can club the ball, but is maybe a bit more pull-happy than Bruce. The former shortstop has taken to his new role at third base and though his arm his average, his footwork and range make him a great candidate to man the hot corner when the regular season begins. Look at the batting practice video, below. Although the angle is not perfect, you can see the smooth swing, he's staying back and has a good follow through. He's clearly not hitting the ball for power (in that clip), but more going the other way with the pitch.
3) Joba Chamberlain / RHP / NYY
4) Clay Buchholz / RHP / BOS
The right-hander was not even a pitcher two years ago. Now, he's thrown a no-hitter in the big leagues and he masters three pitchers, with his fastball being his third best pitch. After pitching two years in the minors, he has fanned 311 hitters in 244 innings, while walking only 68. I like the way the Red Sox front office shut him down when the first sign of tiredness appeared at the end of last season. You just have to protect this kind of talent.
5) David Price / LHP / TB
6) Colby Rasmus / OF / STL
7) Clayton Kershaw / LHP / LAD
I'm sure you've all seen this video below of Boston's Sean Casey frozen by a terrific curve by the 23-year-old. If not, do yourself a favor and admire the hammer. I interviewed Blue Jays prospect Travis Snider at the beginning of October 2007 and I asked him which pitcher impressed him the most since he entered pro ball. He never hesitated and said: "He sits at 93-95 mph, which lefty on lefty makes it that much harder and he's got an absolute hammer. He'll throw it at your head and it'll drop back at the outside corner, you can only hope to foul it off." His 50 walks in 97 innings (AA) would worry me a bit, but his 134 K in that span make me feel very good. He's a top of the rotation pitcher who's at the big league's door and will see the Big Show at one point or another in 2008.
8) Cameron Maybin/ OF / FLA
9) Homer Bailey / RHP / CIN
10) Rick Porcello / RHP / DET
11) Travis Snider / OF / TOR
12) Jacoby Ellsbury / OF / BOS
13) Andrew McCutchen / OF / PIT
I'll be surprised to see what kind of power he displays when he reaches AAA or the bigs for good. After seeing him take batting practice at Bright House Field, it became clear that he is a slasher and will hit many grounders and take advantage of his great speed to be the throws to first base (like in the video below). He has a wiry frame and still needs to fill it out, but I wonder how much tweaking they'll do with his swing to lift the ball a bit more. It should be noted that he hit 50% of his batted balls on the ground in the minors last season (AA and AAA)
14) Mike Moustakas / 3B / KC
15) Josh Vitters / 3B / CHC
16) Johnny Cueto / RHP / CIN
He has been impressive so far in Spring Training (9 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB and 8 K) and scouts had nice things to say about the 22-year-old: "Of Cueto, one American League scout said, 'From people whose judgements I trust, they said Cueto is the best they've seen this spring." He throws a mid-90s fastball (that he can locate on both sides of the plate and keep it down - 11 HR in 161 IP last season), an above average slider and a developing change-up that projects as above average in the majors.
17) Carlos Gonzalez / OF / OAK
18) Ian Kennedy / RHP / NYY
I like Kennedy for the fact that he won't blow anybody's mind with his stuff (fastball normally runs at 89-90 mph), but he really knows how to pitch and shows an impressive poise for a 23-year-old that was drafted in 2006 and made his major league debut last season. Makes me think of the Twins' Kevin Slowey, who has pinpoint control and throws at the bottom of the strike zone.
19) Fernando Martinez / OF / NYM
20) Jacob McGee / LHP / TB
21) Andy LaRoche / 3B / LAD
22) Matt Wieters / C / BAL
23) Lars Anderson / 1B / BOS
The slugger hit 37 doubles and 11 homers in his first pro season and he is 20 years old. Great eye at the plate (.384 OBP in A-ball) and solid power potential.
24) Brandon Wood / 3B / LAA
I'm a little worried about the former shortstop. While he presents a power bat, he can't seem to control his strikeout rate in the minors (over 25%) and has a tough time adjusting in the majors (36%) and he really struggles against right-handed pitchers, as a right-handed batter. So far in Spring Training, he has 15 K in 35 AB and has not drawn a base on balls yet. His three homers lead the team, but so does his mediocre .114 average. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy, but he has some really important adjustments to make before he can contribute at the major league level.
25) Franklin Morales / LHP / COL
26) Wade Davis / RHP / TB
Wade Davis looks to keep his K/9 over 10 again this season
(mwlguide/flickr)
28) Nick Adenhart / RHP / LAA
29) Jose Tabata / OF / NYY
30) Jeff Clement / C / SEA
31) Adam Miller / RHP / CLE
32) Chris Marrero / OF / WSH
33) Jason Heyward / OF / ATL
34) Joey Votto / 1B / CIN
The Canadian has got it all; contact abilities, good eye at the plate and a power stroke. Now, Baker wants to mess with it and I really don't agree with that.
35) Reid Brignac / SS / TB
36) Angel Villalona / 3B / SF
37) Gio Gonzalez / LHP /
Really good pick up for Billy Beane and his Athletics in Oakland. Led the minors with 185 strikeouts in 150 IP, with 57 base on balls. That's a year after he fanned 166 batters in 154 frames, but this time he got a hold of his delivery and lowered his HR/9 to 0.60 from 1.40 in 2006. Can't wait to see how he handles the promotion to AAA and how fast the 22-year-old gets a call to the big leagues to get some experience.
38) Chase Headley / 3B / SD
He's got the bat, now find him a place on the field. The Padres have made him switch to the outfield and the result so far are not convincing, but encouraging nonetheless. He was in the Texas League last season, which didn't help his power numbers (38 doubles, 5 triples and 20 homers), so just imagine the damage he could do in...Petco Park?
39) Matt Antonelli / 2B / SD
40) Desmond Jennings / CF / TB
41) Carlos Triunfel / SS / SEA
42) Carlos Gomez / OF / MIN
We all know that he create havoc when he gets on base...but will the power
and plate discipline show up in 2008? (njbaseball/flickr)
44) Matt LaPorta / OF / MIL
The outfielder has a blog on Baseball Digest Daily.
45) Austin Jackson / OF / NYY
46) Justin Masterson / RHP / BOS
47) Ross Detwiler / LHP / WSH
48) Jordan Schafer / OF / ATL
49) Fautino de los Santos / RHP / OAK
Filthy, filthy stuff. The problem may reside between the two ears. He is very emotional, like many Dominicans are, and he will have to harness these emotions and channel them into control and command of his mid-90s fastball (with sinking action - 8 HR in 121 IP in 2007), a great curve that's a plus pitch for him and a developing change-up that's projected as a plus pitch when he reaches the big leagues. For Nick Swisher, they got an outfielder and two pitchers that could form a 1-2 punch at the top.
50) Chris Volstad / RHP / FLA
The Marlins' Chris Volstad, 21, has only allowed one earned run and 10 hits in 11 innings pitched, for a 0.82 ERA. After tasting Double-A last season (42 IP, 41 H, 10 BB, 25 K, 3.16 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP), the 16th overall pick in 2006 will again see action at this level in 2008, but could reach the majors as a September call-up or if the big league rotation suffers from multiple injuries.
People seem to expect more strikeouts from the right-hander, but his ability to keep the ball down (sinker that reached the low-90s) could really help him compensate for that. He has kept his GB% over 50% since he entered professional baseball.
51) Will Inman / RHP / SD
52) Jarrod Parker / RHP / ARI
53) Carlos Carrasco / RHP / PHI
54) Elvis Andrus / SS / TEX
Touted as a five-tool, future All-Star, his numbers have painted a different picture so far, although at 19 years of age, he could be excused for not putting up record stats. He was a main element of the trade that sent Mark Teixeira to Atlanta last season and there's plenty of time for the Venezuela native to prove his worth to the Rangers front office. Soft hands, great range and a power arm at the premium are only some of the adjectives used to describe the mature teenager.
55) Luke Hochevar / RHP / KC
I like the decision to start him in the bullpen in 2008. With the Royals quickly gaining ground on their divisional opponents and gunning for a quick return to their winning ways, they plan on giving the 24-year-old some experience against the best hitters this sport has to offer and get him ready for a spot in the rotation in 2009 or simply later in 2008. He attacks hitters with a fastball (low-90s), slider (low-80s), curve (75 mph) and change (low-80s).
56) Hank Conger / C / LAA
57) Eric Hurley / RHP / TEX
58) Brett Anderson / LHP / OAK
59) Beau Mills / 3B / CLE
60) Deolis Guerra / RHP / MIN
61) Geovany Soto / C / CHC
62) Ian Stewart / 3B / COL
63) Neil Walker / 3B / PIT
Coaches say he was out of gas at the end
of the year and the numbers prove it. (tigers1978/flickr)
65) Max Scherzer / RHP / ARI
66) Scott Elbert / LHP / LAD
67) Chin-Lung Hu / SS / LAD
68) Tyler Robertson / LHP / MIN
69) Chris Perez / RHP / STL
70) J.R. Towles / C / HOU
While keeping up his pace from last September (.375/.432/.575) will be near impossible, he has begun Spring Training the same way he finished last season and Brad Ausmus will now call the bench home in 2008. Bill James sees him with this batting line: .293/..355/.462 in 368 AB.
71) Brent Lillibridge / SS / ATL
72) Jeff Niemann / RHP / TB
73) Steve Pearce / 1B / PIT
His time is now and I hope there's place for him in the outfield with the Pirates. Very good eye at the plate and he can hit for average on top of his explosive power (OPS above .900 at three different levels of the minors last season). He was surprisingly good in the outfield (no errors in 19 games), but his range and arms are average at best.
74) Bill Rowell / 3B / BAL
75) Manny Parra / LHP / MIL
76) Madison Bumgarner / LHP / SF
77) Jeremy Jeffress / RHP / MIL
78) Jaime Garcia / LHP / STL
79) Blake Beavan / RHP / TEX
80) Brandon Jones / OF / ATL
81) Phillippe Aumont / RHP / SEA
He is a fellow Quebecker and people don't realize, yet, what they are about to see from this man. After speaking with his battery mate from a year ago, once he gets it all figured out, watch out. Fastball (4-seam and 2-seam), splitter, slider....just a complete package that's surrounded by a 6'7'', 220 pounds frame.
82) Chris Nelson / SS / COL
83) Alan Horne / RHP / NYY
84) Dexter Fowler / CF / COL
Once he can get at the plate more than 400 times above A ball, we'll truly be able to admire this kid's talent. I wrote an in-depth scouting report on the switch-hitter a few months ago.
85) Michael Burgess / RF / WAS
86) Chris Tillman / RHP / BAL
87) Jair Jurrjens / RHP / ATL
88) Gorkys Hernandez / CF / ATL
Gorkys Hernandez has been under the radar, but he steals (54 SB last season)
with a capital 'S' and now begins to show the power
promised (34 extra-base hits) when first signed as a free
agent in Venezuela. (wizardkitten/flickr)
90) Ben Revere / OF / MIN
It will be interesting to see if the Twins decision to take the 19-year-old in the first round will be rewarded down the line. He offers the athletic abilities the Minnesota executives like to see in a young player. His scouting report (for the power in his bat) at the time of the draft literally said 'has no power to speak of'. That said, to possess the kind of speed this kid has, it cannot be taught and his excellent makeup might make him a diamond in the rough.
91) Taylor Teagarden / C / TEX
92) Bryan Anderson / C / STL
93) Matt Latos / RHP / SD
94) Oscar Tejada / SS / BOS
95) Sean Gallagher / RHP / CHC
96) Casey Weathers / RHP / COL
97) Jeremy Hellickson / RHP / TB
98) Trevor Cahill / RHP / OAK
99) Radhames Liz / RHP / BAL
As much as I'd like to see him make batters look bad as part of a bi league rotation, it might never happen. Great arm, but he needs to harness his stuff and the bullpen might be the best place for him to blossom. His K/9 over 10 in the minors tells of the way he can dominate, but his BB/9 over 4 speaks even louder.
100) Mitch Boggs / RHP / STL